Meet the Team

Module Leaders

Lisa Ober​Lisa’s career as a professional portrait and still life painter has spanned 25 years resulting in numerous awards and publication of her work. She is an owner of OA Gallery in Kirkwood, Missouri which showcases exceptional contemporary representational art. When she is not in her studio painting she travels the globe teaching pastel and oil painting workshops to other professionals and aspiring artists. Lisa adores art and artists and often helps others to navigate the business of art.

Mark Witzling​Mark earned a graduate business degree with High Honors from Boston University and an undergraduate degree from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota he had a successful career as a branding and marketing strategist for well-known consumer product and financial services companies as well as technology and entrepreneurial adventures. Whether launching new brands or leading digital marketing, he is always the client interacting with highly creative people – writers, artists, designers – to create new advertising, packaging and promotional materials. Over time, his interest in the creative side emerged and he began to paint. His work has evolved over time from a purely representational painter to become an abstract artist and he has combined his career experiences for success in each.

Kathie Thomas​Kathie Thomas is the founder of Beyond Concepts LLC. She has more than 30 years of international experience in: developing creativity, facilitation, managing teams, training & coaching, strategy implementation, change management and communications. Beyond Concepts LLC is an innovation consultancy focused on business growth and transformation. Kathie partners with visionary leaders to turn opportunity into value by tackling highly ambiguous challenges. She has developed proven, proprietary tools and processes to help leaders inject a new level of innovation, creativity and productivity into their teams to unleash the talent of their organizations. She is also an artist, photographer and poet.

Jesse BarashJesse has over 30 years of experience in Consumer Packaging Goods with the majority of his career spent at Nestle Purina. He has worked in Brand Management, Business-to-Business Marketing, and Innovation. Jesse was the first internal Ideation Facilitator at Nestle Purina, and then started Zero Gravity Consulting in 2011. His company routinely employees the talents of experienced artists who as as Visual Thinkers help brainstorm from a Zero Gravity perspective and then bring the ideas to life in real time.

Mich Hancock​Mich Hancock is the dynamic CEO of 100th Monkey Media, a company focused on creating quality connections and interactions for B2B and B2C clients through Social Media. She is also the co-founder of TEDxGatewayArch, an innovative and thought provoking organization that brings TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) Talk experiences to St. Louis. She interviews TEDx speakers and St. Louis visual and performing artists and other movers and shakers on her popular MichMash Podcast and is a sought-after speaker, delivering workshops and seminars for organizations around St. Louis, including the Olin School of Business at Washington University

Jim LaVictoire​Jim LaVictoire is a senior partner at Advantage Performance Group. He has more than 30 years of sales, management and training experience. Jim is a highly experienced consultant who specializes in helping organizations improve leadership and teamwork, performance mastery, business literacy, and sales and sales management. He founded his firm 25 years ago with a video project through CheckMark Communications, the creative arm of Nestlé Purina PetCare. Weekends find him at art events from Clayton to Belleville, since his wife Molly is a watercolor artist.

Garry McMichael​Garry is owner of Paint St Louis and since 2008 has been organizing workshops to help artists improve both their creative skills and business success based on the belief that “A rising tide lifts all boats.” He is also a photojournalist and commercial photographer working for numerous regional and national businesses and publications. Garry is actively involved with the Greater St. Louis Art Association, Art St Louis and is past president of the Gateway Pastel Artists Association. His most recent personal project has been a series of photographs and paintings of the St Louis Gateway Arch, called “In the Shadow of the Arch”.​